A fully-automated and coupled CFD-driving simulator procedure for vehicle aerodynamic design

CFD for vehicle aerodynamics and driving simulators are increasingly used in the automotive industry to design and develop more efficient, safe and sustainable vehicles. The combination of aerodynamic simulations and driving simulators allows to thoroughly test a vehicle concept from early design stages and obtain an optimised final product. A fully automated procedure for characterising vehicle geometries with aerodynamic coefficients for the driving simulator is described. The objective is to perform dynamic driving simulations with the driver in-the-loop, by including an accurate estimation of aerodynamic loads, with the possibility of directly comparing different vehicle configurations. An implementation of the procedure shows the improvement of a baseline vehicle configuration with the addition of a rear spoiler. This modification is assessed quantitatively by a driver model and qualitatively by a real driver.